[Dorrado]

i asked in the forced induction forum but the corrado guys have always been quick with their suggestions so i thought i would ask here as well.

I am trying to figure out the cause of my vr6 turbo smoking. A few details and some background.


fresh rebuild and 8.5:1 headspacer (was smoking before - no change)
converted to OBD2
changed from C2 60# non promaf setup to the C2 60# promaf setup (was smoking before - no change)
vacuum tested the setup, no leaks
replaced blue coolant sensor
made sure it was using a 3bar fpr
scanned and there are no codes

a shot of how the setup looks (with a promaf filter now):

Here is q quick video of the exhaust and how it is running:

any suggestions on sensors to check or any other ideas!

thanks

 

[G60ING]

What is your definition of fresh rebuild? Rings? Bored out and larger pistons? New hg?

 

[Dorrado]

What is your definition of fresh rebuild? Rings? Bored out and larger pistons? New hg?

Ball hone with new piston rings, new head gasket, new bearings, rebuilt head, and new head studs

 

[2deep]

If all those items are good and fresh I would say the turbo. Any shaft play with the turbo? A oil seal could be bad also. Throw some stock manifolds on it and see how it smokes. Just make sure your oil feed line isn't hooked up. or just make sure its blocked.

 

[7GIRLS3CUPS]

What type of crankcase breather system have you built and does it apply vacuum to the crankcase? Try a leak down test and see what happens.

 

[a_riot]

What color and smell is the smoke? If its blue then its oil burning but if its more white, then might be head gasket. You should also be able to tell from the smell.

 

[G60ING]

I had a similar issue a few years back in 2005. I rebuilt the head as the vales were really bad and then did the honing and and new rings only to have it still smoke at idle. In retrospec I think it was either the bores were out of round or there was oil in the cat from the issues before the rebuild and the oil was burning off.

Do you know the history of the car prior to the rebuild? I didn't so I had no idea if it have ever been overheated or how it got to such state.:banghead: I swapped that car to a TDI.

 

[green_slc]

Could be worn out turbo too. It had one leaking oil into the downpipe before

 

[corrado-correr]

What color and smell is the smoke? If its blue then its oil burning but if its more white, then might be head gasket. You should also be able to tell from the smell.

x2, it's hard to tell from the video.

if fuel it's running rich, check again for vacuum leaks or loose intake pipes/boots. sense youre obd2 now check for faults related to the injectors or short to grounds, get the injectors tested to make sure they arent stuck open.

 

[2deep]

I would check with a head gasket test. AKA block tester. From the smoke I would say there is coolant burning off somewhere. Block test it with this blue fluid and tool it comes with to check at the coolant resvoir. It changes color when it comes in contact with exhaust gases in the coolant system. Also an additional check, what color do the spark plugs have that face the combustion chamber>

 

[green_slc]

If the smoke thin out or clear after warm up then it's valve stem seals. Even new they are easily damaged if installed incorrectly.

If blocked crankcase breather the positive pressure could push oil pass the valve stem seal and your car would smoke like James Bond Aston Martin smoke screen, lol